"Okay, okay, now sit down," the man said as he rushed hurriedly into the cafe and found a table. His apprehensive friend who was a bit skeptical followed him in. They both ordered a coffee. "Okay, I had the strangest dream last night," the man continued his strange reverie until his friend interrupted him.

"August, are you sure you haven't been partying a bit too much lately?" August's friend laughed loudly knowing that August hated parties.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want," August muttered, his face grave. "Anyway, so get this, I was dreaming that I was taking care of an errand at the grocery store. It was so vivid." He shuddered at the memory. "I was looking around, but I was very aware of what I was doing, so I took the opportunity to explore the place."

"It's a grocery store," his friend interjected. "What's there to explore?" he asked rhetorically with a large grin.

August rolled his eyes. "If you would let me finish." He coughed. "Anyway, so as I looked around, I saw a staircase that spiraled down into somewhere. Naturally I became curious and went down the staircase, counting the steps as I went. There were Seventy Steps."

There, his friend held up a hand and took a sip of hot coffee. "Where is this all going? You know my breaks don't last long?"

August sighed in despair. "But it was such a magnificent journey I had! There were so many strange creatures and lands beyond imagination! I made more friends that joined me on my quest! We scoured the Dreamlands seeking out the threat that was intent on destruction and-"

His friend stood up. "I'm sorry, August. It all really sounds fantastic, but I'm so busy. You can tell me later." His eyes darted to the side and he waved to August in a friendly goodbye before leaving the cafe.

August was depressed and sipped a bit on his coffee. Though it warmed his insides, his heart still remained frozen. However, his attention was caught when he noticed someone approaching him from across the cafe. He was fairly tall wearing a stylish black overcoat and professional dress pants. A beautiful white dress shirt with a black tie rested beneath the overcoat. The man had kind eyes; ones that held a strange curiosity, yet appeared to be oversaturated with knowledge already. His rather short hair was jet black and an elegant and gentle smile sat upon his face.

"Hello there," he greeted August and took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of the table where August's friend had been sitting. "I couldn't help but overhear your brilliant reverie about your dream. My name is Howard Phillips Lovecraft and I would dearly enjoy to hear about your dream adventure."

August smiled and nodded his head. "All right then. Well, it all really started after I descended the Seventy Steps..."

All right. Time for everyone to send me their character profiles. ^ ^ As you can see, I revealed nothing about the storyline here in this little intro, but that will only serve for it to be more surprising. Once I have everyone's profiles, I'll get this thing started. XD

The steps seemed to go on forever. August counted them off one by one. "Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four...," he continued on, his voice barely a whisper as he descended. How had his dream become so strange all of a sudden? Just moments ago he was in a grocery store in a dream that was supposed to be mundane. But the staircase....

"Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight...."

The steps became fewer and fewer until the end was finally in sight. August counted the steps more quickly as his pace became more rapid. What lied in wait for him at the end of the staircase.

There were Seventy Steps.

And what awaited in the room at the bottom was none to welcoming. There were others who had descended the Seventy Steps as he had. A strange mist was gathering around them, weapons and armor forming and becoming solid from it. As he arrived in the room, nothing happened to him. The mist grew close to him, but didn't form anything. It just slowly and slightly hovered about him. However, it did bestow upon him a rather nice overcoat which he smiled at.

The ground rumbled and from the opposite side of the room appeared two humanoid creatures. One was fairly small with a prominent vest and slender sword. The other was immensely large with an enormous axe with a black blade tinged with crimson. It wore mail that seemed to constantly cycle the surrounding mist. Both of the creatures had their weapons drawn. The small one spoke.

"Thou who wishes to pass into the Dreamlands must be judged," he said with an elegant voice. It was calm and gentle.

"And we shall be your judges!" grumbled the larger one in a much louder voice. His eyes seemed to be ablaze with the yearning for violence. "To arms, challengers!!"

Chapter 00: Worthiness

Location: Ominous Descent - Seventy Steps

Objective: Defeat the Dream Guardians! [TUTORIAL: This is just a practice battle, so don't worry about not having a starting inventory. Just try your best; victory is at hand.]

Dream Mist: None. [NOTE: The next battle will introduce the Dream Mist and Dream Shift concepts. Nightmare Shift will be explained whenever it shows up in the role play.]

August didn't know what to do when the giant creature shouted out that they should draw weapons. It seemed like everyone had received one, but no weapon formed in his hand. The mist just continued to trickle around him. He had no idea what to do, so he held out his fists in front of him as if he was really going to punch one of the two enemies that had presented themselves. He had never fought in real life; he wondered what it would be like in a dream.

Last edited by Masquerade on Wed Mar 17, 2010 4:39 pm; edited 1 time in total

Aryn stared ahead at the guardians, a calm patience gracing her features. She glanced at one of the others. He didn't seem to have any weapons, but he seemed ready to fight. Good; she felt courage would be needed here.

_________________"We must no more ask whether the soul and body are one than ask whether the wax and the figure impressed on it are one."

Where was he? In dream, maybe, or a surreal reality? Nevertheless, the abstract staircase he had been descending seemed to go on forever, the darkness of the entire spiral of nonexistence was contrasted by the everlasting shine of the clear, glass-like steps that were suspended by an unknown force. A dream, an imposing crystal palace that he was exploring... That's all he could remember. Until he met that flight of stairs... An ominous desire to descend them overcame his senses, and so he was there. For some reason, he had been counting every step that he had passed, and just as he reached the Seventy Steps the whole void was ripped apart as a room materialized, and he fell down at the same time the bright glass step he was standing at broke into pieces, to later vanish in mid-air.

Last edited by Shadow27 on Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

Seventy Steps. Seventy steps that made the staircase. The staircase. The staircase, the one thing that seemed so surreal to her. Before the normal art museum had seemed so invigorating. But the one door, that led to this one staircase; it all seemed just to unreal. As she reached the bottom, she disappeared. But with a faint light, she reappeared, the other thing that seemed surreal.

"The Light fades... but I don't seem to die..."

Her image flickered for a second before she turned to look at the person next to her. Her solemn eyes seemed to pour over with tears, but it flickered and faded. A small smile graced her face for a moment before she spoke once more.

"Don't worry... this will become clear... for both of us..."

Last edited by SilverStorm on Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

The moment she had seen those steps, she just knew she had to climb down them. They just smelled like adventure. It had taken some effort to get away from Raven but she did it, though she had reason to believe he let her go on purpose, and now nothing stopped her from descending the stairs. Her violet eyes sparkled with delight as the Little Lady reached the bottom of the stairs.

Little Layla quickly looked around, seeing nothing but mist. Excitement flooded her being as she eagerly tried to see through the whiteness. The small girl caught sight of other people and was about to call out to them when voices caught her attention. Layla snapped her head toward the voices, sunny yellow hair swirling around her, and stared.

Realizing that these things were looking for a fight, Layla could not keep the grin off her face. She whipped her arms out to her sides in closed fists and a glinting light showed that needles had appeared between her fingers. It was a good thing Raven had taught her some self-defense lessons.

This was certainly becoming a strange dream. It started out normal enough, if you could call swimming in a lake suspended in a cloud normal, but changes to bizarre with the apparance of a descending staircase. In the middle of the lake too. He had had to dive down to reach it, and found air past the first six steps.

Not one to take steps one at a time, he more or less ran down the rest, finding himself is a room with swirling mist at the end. He estimated that he climbed down maybe 70 steps, give or take a few. A moment after he cleared the stairs, his swim trunks were replaced by a suit, tie and a pair of gloves. Nor was he aone in the room. The mist gave the others around their own unique set of clothes. What grabbed his attention the most was the command, "To arms."

Puzzled, he shifted his potision, feeling a strange sense of responsibility towards the swordsman besides him.

August nodded to the female that had appeared beside him. She seemed like she wasn't really there, but he was positive that she was, for she had spoken to him. Regardless, August focused on the task at hand. He rushed forth and thought with all his might. Why didn't I get a weapon?! I need a weapon. Anything....anything...., he thought earnestly, and when he opened his eyes, he noticed a rather simple, wooden staff in his hands. It had a clear jewel at the tip of it. August was awestruck. So, the mist did grant him a weapon after all. He wondered why it had been so late though.

August uses Staff!

August can now use Staff abilities!

Last edited by Masquerade on Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:29 pm; edited 2 times in total

"Here I go!" Layla shouted as the battle finally began. She dashed past the male in the uniform in front of her, nearly tripping over her own two feet when she recognized what the man was supposed to be. The Little Lady had nearly believed Raven had sent someone to watch over her.

[Layla] moves to [G-6].

Once establishing that no, the butler was not sent by Raven, he was after all sticking rather close to the man to the left of him, Layla quickly turned away from him. This was not the time to be paranoid. She was finally going to do something that she had only seen in movies, cartoons, TV shows, DVDS and video games! All the stuff she's read about in every book she's come in contact with come to life!

Layla was almost giddy with excitement.

"Alright," she grinned, a single needle in hand. The small girl carefully aimed at the giant in front of her, eyes narrowed in concentration. After a moment, she let the needle fly, aiming for the thing's arms.

"I've never done this before," Layla admitted as she watched her needle fly. Though, it was said mostly to herself. Suddenly, her attention was drawn to the area next to her and she snapped her head to the right. Standing there, was a man surrounded in mist. She watched in awe as the mist gathered in his hands and slowly transformed into a staff.

Her eyes were wide with awe. She had never seen something so-

"Oh my gosh, that's so cool!" she blurted out, eyes literally sparkling as she clasped her hands in from of her face. "Can you do anything with it? How'd you do that? Do it again, do it again!"

With an ease that surprised him, Loki moved to the spot beside the young lady (more like a little girl) that had brushed past him. He pushed aside the urging feeling to stay close to the swordsman, from the looks of him, he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

He nervously tugged on the gloves he wore. He saw the other guy somehow conjure a staff out of thin air (well, thin mist,) but didn't remark. After all, hadn't his current clothes appear out of mist too? He thought more about how he would fight. The instant he did, knowledge about unarmed combat and special moves popped in his head, as if they were always there. Blinking slightly, he gazed at the guardians with appraisal.No, to far to attack, he thought.

Aria followed the boy she had been standing next to. The light tha her body appeared in dimly flickered along with her image. As she reappeared next to him, she focused on one of the guardians. Slowly she started to sing, but no voice came forth. Only in the mind of her foe was there sound. A cherished loved one appeared in front of them, but it was all in their head.

Seeing that everyone else were handling themselves just fine, she decided they didn't need her yet. Unless . . . no, she would wait, conserve her energy.

Aryn had already been in dreams like this one, where she wielded a sword and wore silver armor, like a knight. In her dreams, she was a knight-in-training, learning how to use the powers of light. It wasn't hard to enjoy them. The only thing was that this was different, there were others here, with powers of their own.

Aryn waits.

_________________"We must no more ask whether the soul and body are one than ask whether the wax and the figure impressed on it are one."

The dream guardian with the sword took a few steps forward and looked directly into the eyes of Ling who was standing directly in his line of sight. "It is time for your judgment. Pray that your past does not betray you," he said serenely. He raised his sword and a jet of light lashed out and struck Ling, causing him to fall into an immediate slumber.

Nasht uses Pass Judgment on Ling!

MP: 94/100

Ling falls Asleep!

Ling cannot be Awakened!

Kaman-Tha moves to C6.

Kaman-Tha hefted his axe and then slammed it into the ground. A wave of darkness lashed out and struck the little girl that had thrown needles at him. "You seem to be quite brave, little girl, but let's put that to the test," he grumbled arrogantly.

August looked uneasily at the small girl who was awestruck by the sudden appearance of his staff. Now that she mentioned it, August had no idea about what to do with it. His hands started to shake as he raised the staff and pointed it at the axe-wielding guardian. Suddenly, the jewel at the tip of the staff began to glow with a golden hue and a large icicle shot out of it. However, before it could reach the guardian, it stopped in midair and shattered into five pieces, each one striking the guardian in the chest. He was shocked; the spell he used was completely inexplicable. He didn't know what to make of it. But he was glad that it had worked, nonetheless.

August waits.

Last edited by Masquerade on Sat Mar 20, 2010 5:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

Aria's image flickered for a bit before fading and reappearing. Her image hid far from their foes, her mouth opening once more. No sound came forth once more, at least not in reality. The same soothing notes were heard in the same foe's mind. Another image of a loved one appeared in front of them, not that it was apparent to anyone else.

Moving quickly, Loki dashed in front of of the sleeping girl. Two people snoozing in two attack! he thought furiously, Definitely not good. He stopped beside the staff wielder, who apparently learned some magic. Though he was still some distance from the guardian, he still had a trick or two to use.

Loki focused on the guardian. He pictured the air beside the axe-wielding man twisting and collapsing on itself. A slight link tugged at him as his technique formed."Begone!" he commanded the brute. The air burst explosively, the sheer force of the released wind slammed into the guardian, causing him to stumble a bit to the side. Loki instantly felt a slight drain as energy was sapped for the attack. He ignored for the moment.

As the guardian she attacked moved forward, straight toward her, Layla tried to stay as still as possible. He seemed to want to do something to her. It didn't seem like it was anything that would hurt, at least, that's what she thought. So, the Little Lady watched with slightly wide eyes as the giant stopped and suddenly slammed its axe down. The wave from the force of the strike struck her and instead of it hurting, Layla found herself falling asleep.

Curious as to what exactly was going, Layla closed her eyes, allowing herself to be taken to a land somewhere in her mind.

Nasht was about to infiltrate the mind of the shade, Ling, but suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion, and his hostility seemed to vanish. He stood patiently, looking in sympathy at his sleeping enemy.

Kaman-Tha moves to C6.

Kaman-Tha gave a hearty laugh as he was pushed over a bit. "You're going to need a lot more wind than that to knock me down, pal," he growled and moved back to his original spot. "Now, little girl, let's see what lies in your heart." With that, Kaman-Tha closed his eyes and it seemed as if he went unconscious. He appeared in front of Layla, both him and her surrounded by intense darkness. "Layla, your heart cowers in this darkness. I can see it. You yearn for other lands, but only if they are graced with light of some kind. Know that light will not always be there for you. What will you do when the darkness attacks you?" Suddenly, a sphere of dark energy surrounded the girl and closed in tight around her, sapping her of her own life force.

August was still in awe about the strength that the staff possessed, but he knew that he didn't have enough energy to fire off another spell like that. As if responding to this thought, the staff turned back into the measly mist and began to aimlessly trickle around him again. "What I need is something to really deal some damage to these guys," he whispered to himself. The mist glowed just a little bit and began swirling around his hand. It stretched out and in mere seconds, August found himself holding a sword. He smiled and slashed the air a couple of times. "Perfect," he said simply and smiled even more. He was beginning to form a theory in his mind, but he didn't want to get too excited just yet until he found someone who knew about the mist.

August uses Sword!

August can now use Sword abilities!

August waits.

Last edited by Masquerade on Sun Mar 21, 2010 8:32 am; edited 1 time in total

Loki moved again. He was really beginning to hate that guardian. He focused again, preparing another attack.

-Loki uses Begone on Kaman-Tha!Kaman-Tha takes 6 Wind damage! [INT][-8 MP]Kaman-Tha may be confused!Kaman-Tha is knocked back to cell C5!

The air warped in front of the guardian, twisting around a central point."Begone!" he commanded, snapping his fingers. Another burst occurred, pushing the guardian back once more. The energy drain was a bit more noticeable this time. That was the last one, he thought.

Pain racked her body as the guardian finished his words. Layla gasped at the rush of feeling, her eyes wide. And yet, she didn't awaken. She blinked, breathing. That had been. . . . . exhilarating.

"Darkness?" she murmured, questioningly to herself. She looked down, hands held in front of her. "I am afraid. . . of the darkness?" Suddenly, the Little Lady let out a loud laugh. She laughed and laughed and laughed until she couldn't no more. Tears of mirth streamed down her cheeks and she wiped them away.

Shaking her head, she breathed in deeply, a huge grin on her face.

"You misunderstand," she said, her voice somewhat raspy. She swallowed, calming down. "Darkness. Light. Those hold no meanings to me. All my life, I have wished to journey into the unknown. See things I have never seen before. Because I was forever caged. But now. . . . ." She trailed off, eyes closing. "The only thing I fear, is that the person most important to me will not be waiting for me when I return. Because I know I will."

"Everything else," Layla continued, eyelids opening to slits. "Does not matter. As long as I know that person is waiting for me, then I know. I can do anything."